Top Law Schools

Hey everyone,

I'm currently in the process of studying to take my second lsat in February of 2015 and i've also been doing a lot of research pertaining to schools in the top 14 during this time. As it is right now I'm caught in a bit of an open ended situation and I'm interested in hearing some input from everyone on the forum.

On the first lsat that I took back in September of 2014 I scored a 168. When I re-take the lsat in February I'm fairly certain that I'll score upwards of 172 at least since i'm currently averaging around a 177.

Currently my gpa is sitting around a 2.8 and by the time I apply next year it will be within +/- 0.1 of a 3.0.

My situation encounters a bit more grey area because of my background as well.

African American male
Played collegiate Division 1 football
Dual Major (Mechanical Engineering and Sociology)

I was often working while playing football which is like a full time job in and of itself. Also,one of my majors, mechanical Engineering, is a hard science. I hear this lessen's the blow from gpa and schools like applicants with a hard science degree since they are rare and needed?


Taking the above into account, I'd like to hear individual thoughts on my situation and where you all think I stand with my current gpa and lsat (2.8/168) in terms of the t14 and then where I might stand with a gpa that's 3.0 +/- 0.1 and an lsat 174+.... Also, how high of an lsat would I need to have a shot at HYS? Is that even an option still?

I don't see any indicators of you being a troll, except D1 football AND a mechanical engineering major??? Damn.

AA, (if you can get a) 170s LSAT, mechanical engineering major, D1 football... you actually might be one of those people who gets into HYS with a GPA around 3. I don't think anyone is going to be able to accurately predict your HYS chances, but apply to the entire T14. I'd imagine you'll get a lot of money thrown your way, and then you can decide how much debt you want to get into.

do the best you can on the lsat and then apply everywhere

go gata

If you get 172+ I think you have a slight chance at H, no chance at YS, and a good shot on down. I don't think you'll get enough money to make it worth it until you get to the bottom half of the T-14. But again a lot of this will come down to the execution of your apps and timing. I was a AA male D I athlete and I think it helps but I also kind of fucked myself over with timing and executing my apps. Either way, you're in a good spot if you get that score I would apply ED at NW but idk how competitive that is. Best of luck, PM me if you have q's

Any predictions on here are going to be highly speculative due to your unique background. I wouldn't rule you out from any law school if you score in the mid 170s

Kill the lsat and see what happens. Good luck

I think your situation is one where the admissions committee would likely give great consideration to discounted the negative value of a 3.0 GPA because of the difficulty of playing D1 football and studying mechanical engineering.

I concur with what everyone else said. If you don't get HYS I think you will get in the T14 with just the 168 LSAT. But don't forget about scholarship/debt considerations. Full scholarship at Berkeley or Michigan or named scholarship at NYU might be better for your particular situation than just an acceptance at Harvard. However, I do understand that HYS is HYS and is hard to pass up due to prestige and placement ability.

From my limited discussions with other law students, I think D1 athletics gives you a great starter in interviews. Also it is looked at as a leadership/team work quality by some employers My friends who played college sports (even D2 sports) tell me that the employers always want to talk about that in interviews. Sometimes to the exclusion of most other things.

Also, your hard science background gives you an advantage if you want to do IP law. That should make your job biglaw job prospects even greater. So just saying that to say that even if you don't get Harvard, Yale or Stanford, you should still have a great chance of reaching your goals from another school and also at getting decent scholarships and those are generally the two most important factors.

No I'm definitely not a troll lol. I appreciate the feedback and different perspectives from everyone! If anyone else has any input i'd be eager to hear it!

mt2165 wrote:If you get 172+ I think you have a slight chance at H, no chance at YS, and a good shot on down. I don't think you'll get enough money to make it worth it until you get to the bottom half of the T-14. But again a lot of this will come down to the execution of your apps and timing. I was a AA male D I athlete and I think it helps but I also kind of fucked myself over with timing and executing my apps. Either way, you're in a good spot if you get that score I would apply ED at NW but idk how competitive that is. Best of luck, PM me if you have q's

Did u have a js1 last cycle?

I'm curious. How badly do you want to be a lawyer? The reason I asked is because with your D1 sports background and an engineering degree, I think you could be well on your way to an interesting and lucrative career, provided that you really want to do engineering work. Even if you don't want to do that for the long run, if you use that degree to get into a great company you can usually move around and get into management or project management or something else to your liking within a few years if you don't want to do the nuts and bolts engineering work.

So within the same time that it will take you to acquire a law degree and pass the bar, you will be well on your way to a great career and you will avoid law school debt and probably many fretful days and sleepless nights.

This is not said to discourage you. If you really want to be a lawyer, then by all means, I would encourage you to go for it. As I stated before, I think your engineering background gives you some advantage in finding a job. Just curious because you do have the engineering alternative.

Harvette wrote:

mt2165 wrote:If you get 172+ I think you have a slight chance at H, no chance at YS, and a good shot on down. I don't think you'll get enough money to make it worth it until you get to the bottom half of the T-14. But again a lot of this will come down to the execution of your apps and timing. I was a AA male D I athlete and I think it helps but I also kind of fucked myself over with timing and executing my apps. Either way, you're in a good spot if you get that score I would apply ED at NW but idk how competitive that is. Best of luck, PM me if you have q's

Did u have a js1 last cycle?

Na I didnt have the numbers and as I mentioned i was stupid regarding my apps